To the Editor:
As I read the article on welcoming and belonging (June 22), I kept wondering, “What are we REALLY welcoming others to?” Our parish? Religious education classes? Coffee & donuts?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 1324, states: “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”
It is my belief that we are first and foremost welcoming people to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrament of the Eucharist. We are welcoming people to build a relationship with Jesus Christ, so they can truly belong to Christ — for eternity.
Madelyn Phares
Princeton
